If You Could Add 1 Former Player To This Years Football Team Who Would It Be And Why?

Was reading r/cfb and discovered an interesting thread. If it was up to me, I would add Jake Long. That would instantly take our O-Line from a C+ one to a B+/A- one. Speight would have more time in the pocket and we could rely on at least one person to get push vs elite defensive lines. What say you Mgoblog?

No chance. Even if it was for an entire career, I'd still debate about Devin Gardner at QB over Robinson. Giving Harbaugh one redshirt year then a year or two, God only knows how much that would have helped Gardner. But the answer for having one former player for a college career, one year, or one game is Woodson or Long. End of discussion.

When I saw the thread title, 'Jake Long' was the immediate answer. However, one is never wrong picking a player like Woodson. Always need different-makers, especially on this years team with a young secondary.

I think OL is our most pressing need, but given the youth of our secondary Woodson would be a great choice even aside from his obvious superiority as a force of nature. Like, if we had to pick someone besides Woodson, a guy like Ty Law would be close behind an OL choice.

...let's go with Mike Kenn. Check out his NFL career. 17 years with the Falcons. 250-some consecutive starts. 5 time first team all pro. An absolute machine at tackle. The state of the art in Bo Schembechler offensive lineman.

kenn played before my time but ive heard about him and seen clips...darn good player. and i could be wrong but one of kenns stats that most impressed me was being named first team all pro like 4-5 times with 4-5 years b/w each honor...dominance & longevity.

as for this hypothetical - tough not to pick woodson or a QB though great OL or DL never hurt

Woodson was a generational talent who was an amazing competitor. One of the best guys at improving in the spotlight games. His performance in the 1996 OSU game was one of the greatest ever. Someone mentioned he was a good special teams player, which is probably true that compared to players who were primarily special teams guys, he wasn't the best. But he could elevate in big games and be the best. Same with offense, he wasn't the best, but he could be in those moments when he needed to be. He had a TD on a punt return and on offense I believe in that OSU game. And he was a stud on defense. There's no other Michigan player IMO who has been as good at their position and at elevating their game to elite level in big situations like Woodson.

Woodson would definitely be a 3 way player for us. Harbuagh would use Woodson more than Carr did back in 1997. Woodson's defense as a CB of S is given. On offense, I would hope he comes close to amassing the following stats: 500+ yards receiving, 200+ yards rushing, and 7-10 total TDs. And his impact on special teams can't be forgotten.

Wheatley becasue we need a beastly, freight train of a RB. (Wish we had taken Najee Harris away from Alabama/Saban.)

We will lose more recruits because of his departure. He was our best recruiter and he connected with recruits and their families better than anyone else we have. Wheatley had an edge about him that said even inner-city/wrong side of the tracks kids could succeeed at Michigan. Parents trusted him.

I hope Pep can recruit and sell his own story because many black recruits see Michigan as a lilly-white midwest ivy league school with extremely high academic standards. I know I will catch some flack for saying it but It's kinda intimidating to some of the black recruits.

If we cant sell Michigan to some of these recruits, we lose great playmakers to OSU and Bama. Private and prep school kids fit in well at Michigan but those freakish athletes from public traditional schools dont give us a hard look because they aren't sure they would fit in. As a result, we lose Championships because these extraordinary athletes are playing against us, instead of for us.

I saw this post and all I could think of was Allen arguing with Terry in The Other Guys.

"Ok, first off: A lion? Swimming in the Ocean? Lions don't like water. If you placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that would make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, 20 foot waves, I'm assuming off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full grown 800 pound tuna and his 20 or 30 friends? You lose that battle. You lose that battle 9 times out of 10."

Is a different Tom Brady when he was at Michigan. Really, if you give Harbaugh any of the QB's the last decade, he'd make them better than they were. Henne, Mallett, Robinson/Gardner. Brady is the obvious answer if he is the Tom Brady he is now. If we are talking about someone who you're taking based on how they played in college, then I don't know if you take him. Writing this made me realize how long it has been since Michigan had a really, truly great college QB. That seems to be turning around.

Is a different Tom Brady when he was at Michigan. Really, if you give Harbaugh any of the QB's the last decade, he'd make them better than they were. Henne, Mallett, Robinson/Gardner. Brady is the obvious answer if he is the Tom Brady he is now. If we are talking about someone who you're taking based on how they played in college, then I don't know if you take him. Writing this made me realize how long it has been since Michigan had a really, truly great college QB. That seems to be turning around.

Bad as a soph, very good as a junior, and took Steinbrenner's $ in lieu of a senior year. This cost us a great shot at an NC and himself a shot at the Heisman. Additionally, his deal with Carr and his presence on the roster cost us 2 yrs of QB recruiting ( in addition to his year which was emptied when he left). Where did this leave us? With J. Navarre, an okay QB surrounded by some of the best talent we ever had.

Henson took care of Henson. Fine. I just wish he'd focus on his Yankee pedigree and not show up on TKA every 2 weeks to reminisce about his "great" M career.